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LIVE PERFORMANCE Saturday, 28h August, 2010 O2 Academy, Brixton, London  Tonight Stacey Walton makes her return to performance in the UK after huge success over in the USA. She has become a very popular musician over the past month or so, She’s recently returned to London to record her debut album and tonight she will be performing some of the songs from her debut album for the very first time along with the expected cover or two. She has spent the past week in Air Studios and tonight is the time to show her fans what to expect on her debut album The Sun Always Rises, needless to say there is a certain amount of pressure on her young shoulders. And now on with the actual gig.
Out walks Stacey wearing her traditional denim shorts and her black vest top. She picks up the microphone and bellows, “How’s everybody doing tonight, I had so much fun in America but man am so glad to be back home, Alright time to put on a fucking rock show.” She plays into the first song on the album The Sun Always Rises, it’s evident that tonight will be full of pounding drums and fast paced guitar playing. This song in particular could be a massive pop hit, it’s lyrics are quite similar to what you’d hear from most mainstream pop acts but it looks like she doesn’t want it commercialised, it sticks with her punk credentials and therefore talk of it being a chart hit could be off the mark but it’s still a pretty great track, vocally it‘s very reminiscent of 70‘s Classic Rock bands but it still manages to sound modern.
Next up is a song which could be interpreted as being a song about sex but it is however not, it’s more of song about guys treating girls like there soft and cuddly when in reality some of them are pretty tough, Stacey would fit into that category I’d think. She moves in closer to the edge of the stage and reaches out to the crowd throughout the song, something which the fans appear to love, the majority of the front row are roughly 16-22 year old boys and I’m pretty sure Stacey’s aware of that, often smiling and winking at them which of course encourages cheers from them. It’s a fairly rowdy audience tonight, making a hell of a lot more noise than I’m used to hearing at this venue and it’s evident that Stacey is the reason why, her personality really comes across when she’s performing and I think that’s what people seem to love about her.
Next up is the first cover of the evening, A medley of The Beatles with Don’t Let Me Down/All You Need Is Love. She sexualises the song using it’s inviting lyrics, “No Body Loves Me Like You Done/Yeah You Done Me/You Done Me Good” and she often thrusts her body forward towards the crowd, I think the majority of the front row has just had their first sexual experience during that song, I think it’s safe to say Stacey knows how to please guys, if anything that’s evident tonight. Her backing band tend to stay aware from the limelight on stage and are often nearer the back of the stage but Stacey often walks over to them and shares the microphone with them, but they do they’re job well enough.
The next song on the Setlist is A Whisper In The Wind which gives the audience the moment they were looking for, the return of the maracas giving the performance a bit of a humorous moment, we all know they’re on the same level as the triangle when it comes to music instruments but Stacey seems determined to “Bring Them Back.” She stops for a moment, “I just want to say thanks to everyone who came out tonight to see me instead of watching the X Factor.”
And now onto the next song of the night which is called Whores In The Backstreet. It’s a complete rock anthem in a similar vein to Love In An Elevator and You Shook Me All Night Long, ACDC and Aerosmith both being influences on Stacey’s music make it understandable that this song could be more at home in either of those bands set lists. She thrusts her body forward again during this song and the crowd are going crazy, it’s an overly sexual performance for this song but the crowd seems happy enough.
And with that it’s time for the second and third cover songs of the evening, firstly with Nirvana’s iconic Come As You Are and then the Muse hit Supermassive Black Hole both of which are performed immaculately, she performs the songs as if they were written by Stacey herself, neither track seemed like a cover version because Stacey was so comfortable playing them, as if she has been playing those songs all of her life. The crowd are again pleased with her song choices.
And now back with Stacey’s songs, and this time it’s the emotional Don’t Look Back, played on the acoustic guitar to add a bit more rawness about the track, it’s not as fast paced and furious of her other songs and the lighters and mobile phones were raised in the air during the performance of Don’t Look Back. As the song finishes she smiles and gives a thumbs up to the crowd who have been amazing tonight as usual, her fans are amazing and they hang onto her every word. One thing I’ve noticed is that the majority of the crowd have finally found music to believe in. and people say rock is dead. Think again.
The next three songs are out of Stacey’s comfort zone, she hands her guitar to the tech by the side of the stage and sits down at the piano and begins An Unbreakable Bond which leads straight into Remember Winter and Your Love (Leads A Girl To Drink) all of which are more slower songs than what we’ve heard during this evening. It has a similar feel to when Bruce Springsteen recorded Born To Run mainly on piano, a very alternative sound but it still works and it’s a great addition to her talent as a musician. Each of those three songs are followed by cheers but the biggest cheer comes as Stacey finishes Your Love (Leads A Girl To Drink), I think it’s pretty safe to say they’re cheering as a form of praise rather than cheering because she’s leaving the stage.
The cheers grow as Stacey exit’s the stage and the lights go down, before quickly coming back on and the reaction is deafening as Stacey returns to the stage with her band.
She steps up to the mic and shouts, “Alright, you guys have been fucking incredible tonight as usual and let me tell you something …” she says in a fairly quiet voice before bellowing “ENGLISH GIRLS ARE FUCKING EASY”. She then begins the guitar intro into the track and the fans are jumping up and down throughout the duration of the song, clearly ecstatic that she’s decided to return for an encore. The song comes to an end.
“I was so nervous about returning to performing in London, I wasn’t sure if you guys would still love me because of the attention I’ve had in the US. But I’m back where I belong and I’ve got the greatest fans in the world, thank you to everyone who came out tonight, it’s really been an incredible night. This next song is called Rip Up The Rulebook.” she announces before playing the ACDC-esque intro to the song. The crowd continue to jump up and down and cheer and as the song reaches it’s climatic chorus the crowd all sing in unison, which in turn leads to Stacey looking very surprised at the sheer volume of the crowd, “Holy fuck.” she shouts before finishing the song.
And now the climax of the evening for lack of a better word. A Tender Kiss, the song which has gained her so much huge attention worldwide but particularly so in the UK and US. “I guess this is the song a lot of you guys will know me most for so here it is. A Tender Kiss.” The crowd volume increases, if that’s even possible and she begins the furiously fast paced intro into the song and as it gets to the chorus, she encourages the crowd to take over the vocals for the chorus, holding the mic up towards the crowd and taking a breather. And incredible gig is ended with Stacey smashing the head of her Fender off the drums cymbals. The lights go on and the crowd goes silent, before a voice sounds out of the darkness, “Thank you all so much, I fucking love you all.” SETLIST:1. The Sun Always Rises 2. Don’t Be Gentle 3. Don’t Let Me Down/All You Need Is Love (The Beatles Medley) 4. A Whisper In The Wind 5. Whores In The Backstreet 6. Come As You Are (Nirvana Cover) 7. Supermassive Black Hole (Muse Cover) 8. Don’t Look Back 9. An Unbreakable Bond 10. Remember Winter 11. Your Love (Leads A Girl To Drink)ENCORE:12. English Girls Are Easy 13. Rip Up The Rulebook 14. A Tender Kiss OOC: I know it should be posted tommorow but I wanted to post it as soon as possible, Also I know it's a little bit long but please at least attempt to read it, I put in a lot of effort into it. |